These trends are echoed locally. The Ombudsman's Office released its annual report [PDF] yesterday, which strongly criticised the government for its attitude to the law:

The Ombudsman's Office has warned of "highly dangerous" moves by the Government to keep information secret by drafting laws to avoid the Official Information Act.

Chief Ombudsman Dame Beverley Wakem says she is concerned at the increasing number of officials in government agencies who fail to understand the constitutional importance of the legislation.

She pointed to several "reprehensible" attempts in the past year by officials to disallow Official Information Act requests for drafts of legislation, in particular on partial state asset sales, charter schools and changes to mining permits.

This is extremely strong language for an Ombudsman, and it suggests that the problem is serious. After thirty years of growing transparency, the government is trying to roll back the Act - and officials are taking their lead. Its not something we should let them get away with.